â€™10 Legacy, Outback Buyers Older, Richer; Diesel Debated

Half of Outback buyers, and almost half of Legacy buyers, make more than $100,000 per year, while the median age of Legacy buyers is up to 51 from 45.

Subaru of America Inc. says it is making inroads with buyers in new demographics with its â€™10 Legacy midsize sedan and Outback wagon models.

Both new this year, the Legacy and Outback are attracting buyers who are older, wealthier and better educated, and there are more married couples among the group, Subaru spokesman Michael McHale says in a phone interview.

Some 51.5% of customers who purchased the â€™10 Outback have an annual household income above $100,000. This compares with 44.7% for the â€™09 Outback and 35.6% for the â€™05 model, the first model year of the previous generation.

The Legacy has seen an even bigger uptick in buyer incomes, as 44.5% now earn more than $100,000, up from 36.4% for the â€™09 model. That â€™10-model customer group also is older, with a median age of 51 vs. 45 for the outgoing Legacy.

In addition, most â€™10 Outback and Legacy buyers have been new to the brand.

Some 75% of first-time Outback buyers through Oct. 1 purchased the wagon under the â€śCash for Clunkersâ€ť program, McHale says, with 72.3% of that group new to the Subaru brand overall.

â€śPeople donâ€™t leave the brand very often, but (new) people are coming in the front door,â€ť he says. â€śSo our share of first-time buyers is at an historic high.â€ť

The best-selling trim level in the Legacy and Outback remains the base 2.5i grade, despite the addition of a continuously variable transmission. CVTs have not found a wide audience in the U.S., but McHale says response to the unit in the Legacy and Outback has been favorable.

Meanwhile, another fuel-sipping Legacy, the diesel version sold in Europe, still is being debated for the U.S.

â€śItâ€™s something weâ€™d really love to do, (but) we donâ€™t feel that thereâ€™s enough market acceptance,â€ť he says. And with fuel-economy and emissions regulations in the U.S. set to change in 2016, a diesel Legacy for the U.S. makes even less sense.

â€śItâ€™s a closing window,â€ť McHale says.

By 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is calling for auto makers to achieve fleet-wide fuel economy of 35.5 mpg (6.6 L/100 km) and fleet-wide carbon-dioxide emissions no greater than 250 g/mile or less.

Another hurdle looming for diesels is the possibility emissions trendsetter California will mandate more stringent rules for emissions of oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons.

A 70% reduction in combined levels of NOx and HC, from 140 mg/mile currently to 30 mg/mile, is being proposed by Californiaâ€™s Air Resources Board. Such a rule would prevent the sale of all diesels currently available in the U.S., and diesel advocates are proposing less stringent limits.